This is the title of an opinion piece by Judith Weeldon in The Australian on Saturday. Well worth reading if you are involved in the promotion of languages, particularly in Australia. The address is http://theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21434426-7583,00.html.

Labels: all languages, promotion of languages

I am starting to use TPRS in my teaching and am really encouraged by the student response. Yesterday I went to a great workshop in Brisbane about using gestures in language teaching.
It seems to me to be a case of reinventing the wheel for teachers to create their own sets of gestures for vocabulary when there are established sign languages that we can draw on. Using signs from DGS/Auslan/BSL/ASL etc has the added advantage that we are increasing students' awareness of these languages.
There are video dictionaries available online:
Australian Sign Language (Auslan)
British Sign Language (BSL) Site 1
British Sign Language (BSL) Site 2
American Sign Language (ASL)
I haven't found a video dictionary for Deutsche Gebärdensprache (DGS), however, there is a DGS Lexikon with illustrations of the signs.

Labels: all languages, gesture method, links, teaching ideas, TPRS

'Elf' is of course the German word for 'eleven' and this game is used to practise numbers 1-11.
Simple version:
Students stand in a circle with a chair behind them. They take it in turns to say the numbers 1 to 11 in order. The person who says 11 is 'out' and has to sit down.
Far more fun version:
As above, but each student can choose whether to say one, two or three numbers. This leads to strategic choices to avoid getting out, particularly when there are only a few players left.
Cautions:
Students in larger classes can get bored/distracted/disruptive if they are waiting for their turn or are out and waiting for the round to finish. Be alert to students trying to get others out as a form of bullying.
Extensions:
This game can be adapted for any vocabulary set where there is a fixed sequence, e.g. months, days, colours in a rainbow.

Labels: all languages, games, teaching ideas

'Thread in C' is an apt name for this concert, with JS Bach's Suite for Cello in C major weaving between contempory works.

Collusion is a Brisbane ensemble (Emma Baker-Spink - soprano, Ben Greaves - violin, Therese Milanovic - piano, Shannon Tobin - cello and Stephen Wylks - clarinet) who last year stunned me with their performance of Messiaen's 'Quartet pour la fin du temps'; one of the best concerts I've ever been to. Tonight's performance was the opening concert in both Collusion's own concert series and the Music at St Mary's series, raising money for the restoration of Queensland's oldest organ.

Bach is my favourite composer and the Cello Suites are masterpieces of the solo cello repertoire. Heard a movement at a time, it was a clever juxtaposition against the modern pieces, as it gave each of them the chance to shine in a way that would not have been the same had it been purely a contemporary programme.

Arvo Pärt's 'Spiegel im Spiegel' is a tranquil, meditative piece that makes me think of single drops of rain on an otherwise still pond; the concentric rings spreading outwards, encouraging stillness. James MacMillan is a Scottish composer whose 'Seven Last Words from the Cross' was performed by Canticum in their Good Friday concert last year. Like that piece, 'Kiss on Wood' is a work of great spiritual passion that makes as much use of silence as intense chords. The smoothness of Ben's playing was a delight. John Tavener's 'Epistle of Love' sets mediaeval mystical texts from Serbia. Emma's singing has a wonderful precision. Intervals are always crystal clear and her diction and ornaments are superb. 'Slice for St Ursula' by Hildegard of Bingen, another German composer, and the only non-modern composer other than Bach in the programme, completed the first half of the concert. In this arrangement of 'O Ecclesia' by Collusion, the cello at times doubled the singing, and at other times played the role of a drone instrument, common in Hildegard's day.

Olivier Messiaen's 'The Kiss of the Infant Jesus' is a complex piece, inspired by a painting that is symbolic of divine love. Therese' playing is marked by an enviable easiness of style, where the music flows with confidence. Larry Sitsky was the only Australian composer featured in the concert. 'Vartarun' is a virtuosic piece for solo clarinet, ably performed by Stephen, whose control over long and soft notes, as well as passages of fast rhythmic variety is absolute.

There is a repeat performance at 3pm tomorrow (Sunday, 11 March), so I encourage Brisbane music lovers to attend! Tickets are $20/$14 and available at the door of St Mary's Anglican Church, Main St, Kangaroo Point.

Labels: Brisbane, concert, review

The school where I teach has a "Swap Day" for grade 8 students. If the student can convince one of their parents to come to school in their place, they get to help out in the Junior School, in the grounds or at the farm. The parents have to go to classes, find the right classrooms on time and bring the right books etc.

As a teacher, we face a class, half of which is our normal students, and half of which is parents. We have to teach something meaningful that fits in with our standard curriculum and yet is accessible for parents and won't disadvantage the students who are out for the day. For language classes, this is a particular challenge, because most of the parents don't know German.

My 75 minute lesson plan solution:
1. Introduce myself and mark roll.
2. Teach numbers 1-10 and play a round of "Elf", holding up my chart of numbers to help the parents.
3. Teach numbers 11-10 and play a game of Bingo based on the numbers so far. I use a simple piece of Bingo software to create unique game cards.
4. Teach numbers 21-30 and give the class a simple Maths quiz.
5. Teach words related to telling time: past/to, half/quarter/o'clock etc.
6. Do a puzzle to match up clock faces and the time written out as words.
7. Do interactive exercises about telling time on the Internet selected from my index.

Pretty much the whole lesson, including giving directions, is in German, with a short debriefing section in English at the end.

I've had great feedback from parents, and I enjoy seeing the students and parents working together. It is a fast-paced and fun lesson.

Labels: german, lesson plan, promotion of languages